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The Red Ball
The Red Ball is the third episode of the third season of the Adult Swim original series The Boondocks. It aired on May 16, 2010. Plot To pay off his debts, Ed Wuncler, Sr. bets everything he owns, including the town of Woodcrest, against a Chinese businessman, Mr. Long-dou, on a kickball game between their two teams at the Woodcrest Kickball Stadium . Wuncler persuades Granddad into trying to talk Huey (described as the Tiger Woods of kickball "before the wife-cheating thing") into playing the game. Initially refusing to play, after Huey meets Long-dou's granddaughter Ming Long-dou, captain of the Chinese team and a formidable kickball player herself, he agrees to play. When Wuncler's hand-picked team consisting of Dominican immigrants are deported and Blackwater mercenaries go on a mission to save POW's is disbanded, Wuncler puts Huey in charge of assembling a new team within two days. Huey gathers players from the neighborhood: Tom Dubois, Granddad, Ed Wuncler III, Riley, Cindy McPhearson, a Tibetan named Jingmei who wishes to humiliate the Chinese, Butch Magnus, and Mrs. Von Heusen. Wuncler is furious over these choices, but Huey says that they are the best Woodcrest has to offer. During the match, the Woodcrest teams suffers from corrupt officiating when the referee goes onto the Chinese side. But when Gin Rummy sneaks into the game and kills the referee by strangling, overdosing and throwing him into a river, Wuncler replaces him with a new referee for the game, Uncle Ruckus. Meanwhile, Ming tells Huey she will be tortured if she doesn't win the game. This works until Huey overhears two Chinese mocking him for falling for a ruse (Revealing Huey can speak perfect Mandarin), which causes Huey to brutally kick the ball into their faces. After the brutal incident, the game quickly devolves into a brawl as each side brutally assaults the other. By the end of the game, all of the Woodcrest and Chinese players are incapacitated except for Huey and Ming. With the score tied 8-8 in the last inning, Huey throws his most powerful pitch, which she kicks directly back toward him, shattering her leg. He catches it, causing his wrists to break and the ball to pop. As she tries to crawl to first base, Huey gets up and tags out her out with the remains of the ball after this he faints. Woodcrest is declared the winner, and Wuncler, praised by ruckus for his "great white leadership," leaves Huey's team to bask in whatever glory they can find. Trivia * The scene at the end of the game is highly reminiscent of the famous anime series Dragon Ball. * This is the episode with the most injuries; it is also the only episode where Butch Magnus is injured. *This the first episode since the pilot in which Ed Wuncler speaks directly to his grandson. *Ms. Van Heusen, Butch, Gin Rummy and Cindy do not speak at any time in the episode. *In the episode, Ed Wuncler voices his complaint that one of the Wushung players is clearly overrage due to his massive physical built. However, Long-dou assures that he is only 12 years old and an aid behind him holds up a birth certificate to verify this. This is a reference to the 2008 Chinese Olympic games and the controversy surrounding the ages of the Chinese gymnastics team members. *Many of the exaggerated super-speed and super-powered kickball moves, especially Huey's final kick and his catch, are probably influenced by the Chinese comedy movie Shaolin Soccer. *Despite the fact that the Woodcrest Team are declared the winners, the score remained tied at 8-8 after the final play. *Dante Basco makes a cameo appearance as Jingmei in the episode. Quotes Category:Episodes Category:Season 3 Category:Episodes with Ed Wuncler I Category:Episodes with Huey Freeman Category:Episodes with Riley Freeman Category:Episodes with Robert Freeman Category:Episodes with Tom DuBois Category:Episodes with Ed Wuncler III Category:Episodes with Cindy McPhearson Category:Episodes with Butch Magnus Category:Episodes with Betty von Heusen Category:Episodes with Uncle Ruckus Category:Episodes with Gin Rummy Category:Episodes with Sarah DuBois Category:Episodes with Jazmine DuBois